Page 134 of On Edge

And I sigh.

He glares at me, but then softens.

Then his gaze drops to my mouth.

And….he leans in.

And I let him kiss me again.

I planned not to let him, but it just happens. His lips brush mine, and my tongue darts out to taste him. He groans at that and nips at my lower lip, making me moan. That’s all it takes.

One little lick and a sex noise from me.

Then his mouth is on mine, soft this time, tentative, almost sweet. I should push him away. I should be mortified. When he kissed me before, he said it was to shut me up.Is that what he’s doing now?

But, I’m kissing him back with the same exploring hunger I had in the tower, my hands fisting in his shirt, my body opening up instead of running away. He responds by kissing me still like I’m made of glass, like I might disappear at any moment. Then his strong hands are moving down, massaging my back, over that billowy shirt, encircling my waist.

He grips me there, once, then pushes me away, stopping us from going further. “Let’s not do this again. I mean…I shouldn’t.”

I stumble back, blinking up at him. “But imagine the damage you’ll do when youshould.”It just comes out, breathless and bold. Not me at all.

The frown on his face is comical. “You’re quoting me now?”

“Am I not allowed to?”

“You wanted to kill me a second ago.”

“That was before.” Troy telling me another detail about my sister that no one outside our family would probably know hastaken all the doubt away. Nell was a great swimmer. She said she felt free in the water. She was an amazing singer, too.

“And now?”

“How about…I kill you after we kiss.” At the worst times, I make bad jokes.

But he cocks a brow, for once, a smirk on his lips. It suits him. “Like a black widow.”

I frown. “I’m not the cannibal here.”

“Ah, you have been listening to all the hearsay.”

“So it’s not true.”

His eyes glint in the firelight. “Not in the way you mean.”

Oh.

A few heartbeats thud in my ears as I remember him holding me down on the kitchen counter while his tongue unraveled me.

Then.

“You didn’t finish last time.”

That makes him pause. Suddenly, the big and scary Troy Severin looks unsure. I quite like it.

“Sage.” His voice is rough, almost strained. Like he’s warning me, but he hasn’t moved away. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“Yes, I do.” I reach up, fingers grazing his jaw, feeling the stubble rough against my skin. “I know now what I want, and it’s you…”

He catches my wrist, but he doesn’t move my hand. Instead, his thumb finds my pulse point, stroking it slowly, deliberately. Like he’s counting how fast my heart is racing. He’s so warm, so solid, so real, not like the cold nightmare of my dreams. He feels like the only real thing in my entire life.